Machine for feeding paper to printing-presses



' 5 Sheets-Sheet 1. A GAMPBBLL. FEEDING SHEETS OF PAPER T0 PRINTINGPRESSBS.

No. 13,333. v Patented July 24, '1355.

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A.'OAMPBELL. FEEDING SHEETS OF PAPER T0 PRINTING PRESSES.

N6. 13,333. Patented July 24, 1855.

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A. CAMPBELL. PEEDING SHEETS ,OF PAPER T0 PRINTING-P1353358. No. 13,333.A Patented July 24, 1855.

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A. CAMPBELL.

} FEEDING SHEETS OF PAPER TO PRINTING PRESSBS. No. 13,333. Patented July24, 1855.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ANDREW CAMPBELL, OF NEW'ARK, NEW JERSEY.

'MACHINE FOR FEEDING PAPER T0 PRINTING-.PRESSES.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 13,333,-dated.Ju1y 524, 1855.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ANDREW CAMPBELL, of Newark, in the State of NewJersey, have invented certain new and useful improvements in the machinefor feeding sheets of paper to printing-presses and for other purposesand delivering and piling the same, of which the following is a full,clear, and exact description, reference be ing had to the accompanyingdrawings, making part of this specification, in which Figure 1, is afront elevation; Fig. 2, a side elevation; Fig. 3, a longitudinalvertical section; Fig. 4, a separate view of one of the endless camgrooves for guiding and operating the grippers; Fig. 5, a separateviewof the other camgroove; Fig. 6, a cross section of part of Fig. 4;Fig. 7, sections of the wheels for guiding the endless band or chainthat carries the grippers; Fig. 8, a

of the frameshowing the valve seats for the rotary valve leading to theblowing and the exhausting bellows; and Fig. 15, is a vertical sectiontaken at the line C, (2, of Fig. 14. Fig. 16 is a section'of the rotaryvalve wheel taken in a plane parallel with its face; and Fig. 17, across section thereof taken at the line D, (Z, of Fig. 16

The same letters indicate like parts in all the figures.

The purpose of my said invention is to take sheets of paper, one by one,from a pile and feed or carry them to a printing press, or to any othermachine, designed to perform some operation upon them and then to carrythem off and deliver them on a pile accurately, one of the chief designsin delivering them being that they may be transferred :to the place fromwhence they-are fed that they may register accurately as when sheets areto be printed on the reversed side. And in the accompanying drawings Ihave represented n'iy said invention as applied to.

board with the .pile of sheets of paper. the ends of the table therearetwo vertical guide plates is, and 1, .one at each end, the

In the accompanying drawings a, represents a suitable frame, and b, atable on which a pileof sheets of paper a, is placed. The pile of sheetsof paper is put on a board (Z, of the required size and the board isplaced on the table I). This table is secured to a cross head 6, theends of which are attached to two vertical rods f, f, adapted to slideaccurately in the frame. And at the lower end these rods are providedwith cogged racks 9, 9, one for each rod, the cogs of which engagepinions h, it, one on each .end ofa horizontal shaft 2, carryinga crankhandle-by which .theattendant lets downthe table to its lowest positionto receive the At the sides of the pile and thus guide the pilelaterally while the end platesguide :the ends of the pile. The size ofthe table should be suited to the size of the sheets constituting thepile, and when the size of the sheets is to be changed the table is tobe changed also, the back plate, that is the one not hinged, as well asthe end guide plates-can be shifted to suit the size of sheets.

The table with the pile of sheets is forced up by the attendant untilthe top of the pile is brought in contact with a gage and holding bar 0,which extends across the pile and which is attached to twoarms 29,1), ona free rock shaft 9. The bar makes pressure on the pile by its weight,aided, if desired, by

a spring. hen the :pile is lifted it is held up by .the friction of apad acted upon by u. And I employ a series of these feed hands and makethem of different lengths to insure accuracy of feed without thenecessity of making the ratchet teeth so fine as to be deficient instrength.

The feeding lever u, is attached to a hub a, that turns freely on theshaft i, and provided with a counter weight w, sufficient to lift up thefeed with its feed hands or pawls. And to the feed lever is jointed agage rod 00, working in suit able guides, and with the upper endextending up to the point of a set screw 3 on the end of the gage andholding bar, so that the weight of the gage bar overcomes the force ofthe counter weight w, and forces back the feed lever whenever the pileof paper permits the gage bar to descend sufficiently to require thefeed motion to take place. When the feed lever has been forced back bythe gage bar it is then acted upon to turn the ratchet wheel and liftthe pile, by a cam e, on a shaft a which makes one complete revolutionfor every operation of the machine. This operation must be delicate, asthe sheets are necessarily thin and it is important that the top of thepile should be always at the same level, and for that reason the axis ofthe joint of the gage rod m, with the feed lever is at the same distancefrom the axis of the shaft 2', on which the feed lever turns, as thepitch of the pinions h, h, on this shaft, which lift the table. In thisway the gage rod becomes the exact gage of the lifting of, or thenecessity for, lifting the pile; At the time of removing each sheet fromthe pile the holding and gage bar must be lifted from the pile to permitthe grippers (to be hereafter described) with the sheet to pass underit, and this is done by a cam b, on a shaft 0, which makes onerevolution for every complete operation of the machine. This cam acts ona roller or wrist projecting from one of the arms of the gage bar.

The sheets are taken from the pile one by one and instead of drawing orsliding them off from the pile they are lifted by one end and rolledoff. The top sheet is taken up by the action of an exhausting bar cl,which is hollow and perforated with numerous f, mounted in suitableboxes in the frame,

the journal of this rock shaft at one end is solid, and at the otherhollow, and communicates with the seat of a rotating valve wheel g, onthe outside of the frame. The exhausting bar is brought down onto thesurface of the top sheet and overlaps the edge. The required motion tobring down the bar is imparted by the rocking motion of the rock shaftwhich is provided with a crank arm it, outside the frame operated by aconnecting rod 2', the outer end of which is bifurcated (as representedby dotted lines in Fig. 2)to embrace and slide on the cam shaft 0, whichcarries a cam j, that acts on a roller or wrist is, on the connectingrod, the said rock shaft being turned in the opposite direction by thetension of a helical spring Z, surrounding it and attached at one end tothe frame and at the other to a collar m. The tension ofthis spring alsoforces the rock shaft endwise to keep its hollow end in close contactwith the surface of the port leading'to the rotating valve g. After thebar has been brought down onto the sheet it is then turned to bring itsperforated surface in proximity with the surface of the sheet, and thisis done by having it turn on its axis as the rock shaft completes itsmotion. The end of the exhaust bar has a pinion a, the cogs of whichengage the cogs of a sector rack 0, on another arm 7), that turns on therock shaft and which is connected with it by a helical spring 9, so thatthis rock arm moves with the arms 6, 6, attached to the rock shaft asthey bring down the exhaust bar; and so soon as the end of the sectorrack strikes against a stop 1", the sector rack and its arm are stoppedwhile the rock shaft continues to be moved by the cam j, and hence theexhaust bar is caused to turn as it continues to be moved, by theengagement of its pinhausting bellows s, the bottom flap of which isweighted to exhaust by its descent and it is connected by two rods t,23, with two arms a, u, of a sleeve shaft "0, fitted to a rock shaft 10,which receives motion from a grooved cam 00, on the shaft a, that actson a connecting rod y, that takes hold of a crank 2, on the end of therock shaft. And this rock shaft has a pin a projecting from it whichpasses through a slot in the sleeve shaft of such length in thedirection of the circumference that when the bottom flap of the bellowshas been lifted the rock shaft can make its return positive motionleaving the flap of the bellows to descend by'gravity. In this way Iavoid all the inconveniences which would arise if the flap of thebellows had a positive motion which would of necessity require themotions to correspond with the movements of the machine or theoperations to be performed by the exhaust.

The upper part of the bellows communicates by a tube 6 with a port 0 seeFig. 14) the direction being partly represented by dotted lines. Andthis port opens through a valve seat (Z making part of the frame andspecially represented in Fig. 14. To this valve seat is fitted the faceof a rotary valve 9 represented separately in Figs. 16 and 17. And theport of the valve seatcommunicates with a corresponding port 0 in thevalve which by an internal channel communicates with a long aperture fnear the periphery which corresponds in position with a port g in thevalve seat leading to the hollow rock shaft which carries the exhaustbar. In this way it will be seen that so long as the port f of the valveis in communication with the port 9 in the valve seat the exhaust barwill be exhausted. The periods of opening and closing this communicationare governed by the turning of the valve which makes one revolution foreach complete operation of the machine, which motion is imparted by apinion h on a shaft 2' which engages cogs on the periphery of the valvethat turns on a center pin j The surface of the exhaust bar is not flat,but of the form represented in the sections Figs. 3 and 10, which formis nearly cylindrical back of the series of perforations so as to rollon the pile and slightly running beyond or out of the circle as itapproaches the series of perforations to make pressure on the pilewithin the edges of the sheets and thus cause the edges of the pile toopen fan like (as represented at Fig. 10). The perforated surface iscurved inward and then extends forward to overlap the edge of the pile.The object of thus hollowing the perforated surface is that the topsheet which is drawn to the surface by the force of the exhaust may becurved inward while the other sheets, not so held, but which have atendency to follow the top sheet by contact of surfaces, may beseparated by their tendency to remain straight or in the line of thechord.

By reason of the curved surface of the exhaust bar and the fact that itsperforated surface is not brought into direct and absolute contact withthe top sheet, the moment the exhausting action takes place a current ofair is induced inward which strikes across the edges of the severalsheets and thus tends to separate them while it carries the top sheet tothe perforated surface where it is held by the pressure of the air. Andto insure the separation of the top sheet from the pile, the moment theexhausting action above named has taken place two currents of air areforced acrossthat is, along the line of the exhaust bar and between thetop sheet then held to the surface of the exhaust bar and the othersheets. This is effected by two blow pipes 76 one at each end of theexhaust bar and blowing toward each other. These two blow pipes projectfrom a hollow rock shaft Z one end of which communicates wit-h a port min the valve seat (Z2 and the other carries a sector pinion n engaged bya rack 0 on the end of a sliding rod 79 operated by a cam 9 on the camshaft, the form of which cam is suited to give the required motions tocarry the ends of the blow pipes to the required position for separatingthe sheets and to permit them to be carried back by the tension of ahelical spring 1 on the rock shaft, which spring also tends to force thesaid shaft toward its port in the valve seat. This port communicateswith a port .9 in the valve and this portby a suitable channel way tpasses out through the front face of the valve at 14 where itcommunicates by a bent pipe 1: with a channel way w in the frame leadingto the bottom of a blowing bellows m The top flap of this bellows isoperated in the same maner as the bottom flap of the exhaust bellows andtherefore not necessary to be described.

The moment the exhausting action begins to take place the exhaust barrolls back a little with the sheet on it, which is done by a slightdepression 1 2 in the-surface of the cam; and the blowing through theblow pipes to separate the sheets does not take place until the exhaustbar has reached the position just designated, as represented in Fig. 3.The exhausting bar then makes another slight movement backward, the blowpipes following it. This is to give sufficient space for the movement ofwhat I denominate the transferringand holding bar. And so soon as thepile has been effectually separated from vthe top sheet, and the holdinghollow and connected by hollow arms 5 wit-h a hollow shaft 0 which ismade like the other two hollow shafts before described, and communicateswit-h a port ri in the valve seat (Z And the valve 5/, has two ports 67*, which alternately communicate with the port (Z One of these ports, acommunicates by the channel b with the exhausting bellows, and the otherf with the blowing bellows. The lower edge of this bar is slightlyroundedto press on the pile, after the separation has taken place, whichmotion is imparted by a cam 9 on the shaft 0/, which acts on aconnecting rod that takes hold of a crank it on the end of the hollowshaft 0 the back motion for lifting being effected by a helical spring2' on the shaft. The moment this transferring or holding bar is broughtdown on the pile the port 6 in the valve has reached the requiredposition to effect a communication with the exhausting bellows. Thefront face of the bar, facing the exhausting bar, is pierced withnumerous small holes like the exhaust bar, through which a current isinduced. Now as the exhaust begins to operate in this holding bar theexhaust bar rolls forward to carry the top sheet, which it holds, towardthe perforated surface of the transferring or holding bar, and at thistime another port h in the valve which communicates with the blowingbellows is brought in communication with the port leading to the exhaustbar thus inducing a forced current through the apertures of the exhaustbar at the same time that an exhaust current is induced through theapertures of the holding bar, by means of which the sheet is transferredfrom the exhaust to the holding bar there to be held by the force of theexhaust until it is gripped by the grippers (to be presently described)and the valve cuts off the communication between the holding bar and theexhaust bellows and opens the communication with the blowing bellows toliberate the sheet. as the grippers take and carry it away; and then theform of the cam 9 is such as to permit the holding bar to be lifted fromthe pile preparatory to the next operation, but it is held there untiljust before the exhaust bar begins its next series of evolutions.Immediately in front of the pile there is a small shaft Z which carriesa series of springs m (four more or less). These springs are attached tothe shaft, are coiled around it, and their ends project in tangentlines. One end of the shaft has a pinion of, (see Fig. 2), which turnsfreely but which is connected wit-h a spring clutch box 0 so that thepinion can be turned in one direction without imparting motion to theshaft, but when turned in the opposite direction the shaft is clutchedand turned by it. The pinion is engaged by a sector rack 79 on thehollow shaft of the exhausting and blowing holder, so that the rockingmotion of this shaft imparts the required motions to the shaft and itssprings. The ends of these springs lie under the edge of the pile, andwhen the shaft is turned they first lift the edge of the pile slightly,and then flip across the edges of the sheets constituting the pile toseparate them just as piles of sheets of paper are separated by flippingthe thumb across them, called thumbing a pile.

The edge of the sheet being held described it is gripped by threegrippers 9 (the number may be more or less) attached to, and carried bytwo endless chains or bands W, of peculiar construction and passingaround two wheels 8 see Fig. 2, at each end of the cylinder 25 of aprinting press receiving motion from some suitable motor thence pass upover two guide wheels a on a free shaft at the back and near the top ofthe frame, then around two guide Wheels 1;, on the shaft 2' at the frontend of the frame, the said shaft thus receiving motion from the chainsor bands; then back over two guide wheels w, on a tubular shaft thatruns freely on the shaft a, before described, and then down under thewheels on the cylinder of the printing machine. Each chain or band iscomposed of two cords, each of one or more strands of cat gut, orequivalent therefor, wrapped around with metallic wire like the basestrings of piano fortes,

by means of which I obtain the required strength, durability, andflexibility. The two cords thus prepared are passed through holes in aseries of metallic cross pieces 00 secured at equal distances apart toconstitute cogs, which enter corresponding recesses in the series ofwheels to obtain accuracy of movements in all the parts. The crosspieces or cogs x are secured on the cords by making the holes just largeenough to receive the cords; these holes are then tapped and when thecogs are in place they are hammered down to close onto the helical orthread like grooves formed by the metallic wrapping of the cords. Theends of the cords are properly secured to the two end cogs, and thesetwo end cogs are connected by two links keyed together. In this way thetwo cords are held at equal distances apart. The cords are fitted togrooves in the series of wheels around which they pass and as the cogsare fitted to recesses in the periphery of the wheels the same accuracyof position and movement is secured as in the case of cogged gearing.The two chains or bands are constructed in like manner in everyparticular. Two sets of grippers are attached to these chains or bandsand at equal distances apart, and the length of the chains is such thatthey make one entire evolution for two complete operations of themachine, so that there is one set of grippers for each completeoperation. This is to secure a convenient length of chain without losingmotion or time in any portion of the operation, and therefore it will beapparent that the machine can be arranged with any number of sets ofgrippers from one upward.

The grippers are composed each of two jaws y and 2 one fixed and theother hinged to open and close. The fixed jaws y are secured by theirrear ends to a carrier rod (4*, by being fitted to the rod by a featheror equivalent means so that they cannot turn on it. The movable jaws 2are connected with the fixed jaws by a hinge or knuckle joint Z),between the gripping part and the rod 64 to which the fixed jaws areattached, and the connection of the hinges is formed by another rod 0parallel to the one holding the tension of a helical spring d, on thehinged rod 0, and attached at one end to the jaw, and at the other tothe rod.

The carrier rod 0., of the fixed jaws is connected at each end to one ofthe chains by a block of metal 6 secured to one of the cogs m and bothends of the rod project beyond the blocks and are provided with rollersf that run in guide grooves g, and if, one on each side and attached tothe frame. The form of the guide groove 9*, on the right hand side isrepresented in the separate figures 4 and 6; and the form of the one onthe left hand side is represented in the separate Fig. 5. As the rollersrun in these grooves the rod carrying the fixed jaws will be maintainedin its proper elevation during its travel through the machine. At thebottom of the guide groove 9*, on the right hand side there is anothergroove 2' of less width, in which runs the crank pin 7, see Fig. 12, ofa crank 16*, on the carrier rod, and the form of this groove and thelength of the crank determines the position of the gripping end of thejaws relatively to the carrying end.

When the grippers approach the position where they are to grip the edgeof the top sheet (the position above described) they are graduallyturned to present the jaws downward in an inclined position tocorrespond with the edge of the sheet which inclines upward; and as thesheet is gripped the jaws are gradually turned back, or rather At theangle n, there is a switch 27*, hung on a fulcrum pin f, and it isprovided with a spring 1 the tension of which tends to keep it in theposition represented in Fig. 4, and keeping the groove from m*, to a,closed, but as the crank pin strikes it it opens to permit the crank pinto pass and then closes behind the crank pin to compel it to pass up theopposite inclination. At the time the crank pin reaches the bottom ofthis groove at n, the carrying rod (4 continues to move 7 Theguideforward with the chains so that the crank pin becomes the axis onwhich the grippers are reversed or turned, and this axis is nearly in aline with the extreme end of the jaws, so that during this reversingmotion of the jaws their extreme end remains in a fixed positionrelatively to the sheet of paper, and to effect this the guide groovesin each side which guide the rollers on the carrying rod are curvedupward in a segment of a circle as at 3*. During the operations justdescribed the jaws of the grippers must be opened to receive, and thenclosed to grip, the sheet. This is effected by a crank 25*,

on the end of the hinge rod 0 which carries the movable jaws of the.grippers. The crank pin of this crank, as the grippers approach thesheet, strikes an inclined plane 2%, which forces the j aws open byreason of the forward motion of the gripper carrier, and as the grippersare reversed the crank pin gradually passes off the inclined plane topermit the jaws to be closed by the tension of the spring (Z on thehingerod, and to ease off the closing, the crank arm slides on a pinprojecting from the side of the inclined plane and gradually leaves it.During these motions the inclined plane u, is fixed, but as in thisposition it would be in the way of other movements, it is attached to anarm if, projecting from the hollow rock shaft 0 of the holder, beforedescribed.

The edge of the sheet having been gripped and the grippers recovered sothat the jaws precede the carrier, the motion by the travel of thechains gradually rolls off the sheet, and carries it off in the reverseddirection of the position it occupied on the pile. To permit the passageof the grippers with the sheet, the holding gage bar 0, is lifted fromthe pile in the manner already described. The continued travel of thechains carries the sheet around the cylinder of the printing press,where it receives an impression and thence it is carried up in the rearend over the shaft of the two guide wheels 10 until the chains travel ina horizontal direction at top. The guide groove h, on the left hand sideis omitted at the places where the chains travel in curves. And theguide groove 9, on the right hand side for the roller of the carryingrod 01,, is also omitted, as the object of this groove on each side issimply to guide the carrier and chains during certain operations. Butthe groove i for guiding the crank pin of the carrying rod is continuedthrough the entire circuit to maintain the proper position of thegrippers.

Above the feed table, already described, there is another table w,called the receiving table, mounted and operated in the same manner asthe feeding table, by being attached to a cross head 00*, attached atthe ends to the two vertical rods y adapted to work in slides, andprovided with racks 2 at the lower end which engage pinion a, on a shaft6 parallel to the shaft 2', for operating the feeding tables. The shaftis provided with a ratchet wheel 0', and a ratchet lever 6F, and hands ein every par ticular like the other except that it acts in the reverseddirection to let down the table as the sheets are deposited on it, whilethe feed table is gradually elevated as the sheets are removed.

The ratchet lever instead of having a counter Weight like the other isprovided with a direct weight which tends to bring the lever against acam 9 on the shaft by which the ratchet motion is imparted, and whichalso tends to force up a gage rod 72, jointed to the ratchet lever atthe same distance from the axis of the shaft 5 as the pitch of the cogson the pinions a This rod is guided by suitable slides, and its upperend is acted upon by an arm i on the end of the arbor 7' of a projectingwing or plate 76 which acts as a gage or holder. This plate is forceddown toward the surface of the receiving table, or rather the pile ofpaper deposited thereon, by the tension of a helical spring on itsarbor, and lifted up at the required time by a rod Z jointed to an arm mthe said rod being acted upon for this purpose by a cam a on the shaftat. And the arbor f, of the said gage plate is provided as above statedwith another arm 2' which gages the upward motion of the gage rod, sothat when the receiving table is at a proper height the position of thearm 2' of the gage plate 10 prevents the gage rod 72. from rising, andholds up the ratchetlever (F.

The cam 9 on the shaft a, has a depression, and when this depressionpasses, the ratchet lever 65 cannot descend, and therefore the ratchetwheel is not acted upon, and hence the table is not moved. But when thesheets accumulate and it becomes necessary to depress the table, thegage plate being held up by the pile, the arm 2' permits the gage rodsit to rise, so that when the depression in the cam passes, the ratchetlever falls back and the continued motion of the cam operates theratchet lever and depresses the table. In this way it will be seen thatthe receiving table is kept at the required elevation during theoperation of the machine, like the feed table, but simply reversed theone being gradually depressed as the other is elevated.

The gage and holding plate as already stated, subserves also the purposeof holding down the rear edge of the sheets piled on the table, and theobject of this is to prevent the rear edge of the top sheet of the pilefrom being disturbed and curled over so the next sheet is carried overto be in turn deposited. As this plate is at the back edge of the pile,and when depressed is in a horizontal position, it does not prevent thepassage of the next sheet, and when that has been deposited, the plateis lifted by turning its arbor, the edge of the sheet drops on the pile,and as the cam passes around, the plate is again depressed by its springto make pressure on, and hold down, the edge of the sheet during thenext operation.

The motions of the grippers with the sheet have been described, so faras carrying the sheet around the cylinder of the printing press, and upin the rear where the chains begin to travel forward in a horizontaldirection, and it becomes necessary to describe the motions for carryingthe sheet over, and dropping it on the receiving table. As the grippersare moved forward they pass over the holding plate 70 and over thereceiving table 4.0 drawing the sheet after them; and when the sheet hasreached the required position over the table the pin 0 on the crank armt", on the rod of the movable jaws comes in contact with an inclinedplane 79 which turns the rod sufiiciently to open the jaws and liberatethe sheet.

Above the receiving table there is a packing plate Q5, which is liftedto permit the grippers and sheet to pass under it, and which is then letdown to make pressure on the pile to pack down the pile and insure thelaying of the sheets flat. This plate is connected by brackets r T witha cross head 8 provided at the ends with guide rods t adapted to slidein appropriate boxes in the frame. This plate descends by gravity and islifted by the arms to", of a rock shaft 41 provided with another arm 'wacted upon by a cam groove 00 in the face of a wheel which makes onerevolution for each complete operation of the machine. The arms a passthrough slots 2 in the cross head, but these slots are of sufficientsize to permit the arms to have a slight motion independently of thecross head and plate. To the back face of the cross head is fitted a bara having slots through which the arms M5, of the rock shaft pass, andthis bar is connected with the cross head by means of screw bolts 6 thatpass through slots in the bar, so that the arms of the rock shaft canimpart a slight motion up or down to the bar independently of the crosshead and plate. The object of this is to operate punches 0 attached tothe bar for the purpose of punching or burring the paper so that thepile can be moved without the danger of shifting the relative positionof the sheets constituting the pile. From this it will be seen thatafter the sheet has been deposited on the pile the arms of the rockshaft descend permitting the plate to descend by its weight to compactthe pile, and then the continued downward motion of .the

arms forces down the bar a with its punches that pass throughperforations in the plate and which are thus forced into the paper. Andwhen the plate is to be lifted to permit another sheet to pass under,the arms a are raised by the rock shaft which first lifts up the barwit-h its punches, and then the plate.

On the rear edge of the plate is mounted a small arbor (1?, whichcarries a series of springs 6 that extend under the platefand turned.

therefore they must be brought back to their original position. This iseffected in passing around the front guide wheels W. The crank pin j*,of the gripper carrier continues to travel in the guide groove 2', whichdescends at an inclination from the point 2', to 7', see Fig. 4. andfrom 3', to 1 it runs in the segment of a circle, and from i to m,itruns as before described in a reversed inclination to the place wherethe grippers are The position of this groove relathis arber also carriesan arm f, with a segtively to the guide wheel around which the ment slot9 to which is fitted the wrist pin of an arm h on the rock shaft 42 sothat as the plate is elevated and depressed by the rocking motion of therock shaft, the wrist pin on the arm it, moves up and down in the sectorslot, which being of less radius than the arm carrying the wrist pin thearbor is thus caused to vibrate so that in lifting the plate to permitthe grippers to pass under, the springs are also lifted, and the momentthe grippers have passed be yond the ends of these springs the rockshaft begins to turn to let down the plate, and this first movementturns the arbor to bring the springs onto the sheet to make friction, sothat the moment the jaws are opened the sheet is stopped .while thegrippers continue their motion. This arrangement of springs is importantto insure the deposit of the sheet in the proper place that all thesheets may be piled up regularly.

The bar a", is provided with a series of holes in its face (not shown inthe drawings) that the stocks of the punches may be shifted to punch theholes in any part of the sheet. And the plate 9 is also pierced withnumerous holes to prevent a sucking action on the pile when the plate islifted which would have a tendency to lift the sheets.

From the foregoin it will be seen thatas the sheets are taken Irom thefeeding table and carried to the cylinder of the press they are reversedin leaving the pile and again turned over in passing around the cylinderof the press so that in passing up toward the receiving table theprinted surface is exposed to view that the work may be in spected, andas they are piled on the receiving table accurately, when the othersurface of the sheets are to be printed it is only necessary to reversethe pile and transfer it from the receiving to the feeding table, andthey will be carried to the cylinder of the printing press and printedon the other face to correspond exactly with the printing on the firstside, making what is termed a perfect register.

After the grippers have deposited the sheet on the receiving table it isnecessary that they should be reversed preparatory to taking the nextsheet, because in gripping the previous sheet they were turned and chainpasses is such that the crank arm it, on the gripper carrier will beheld inward toward the center as the carrier travels around with thewheel.

As the gripper carried is moved forward it precedes the crank pin, andhence the aWs project backward, and in passing around from the top tothe bottom of the guide wheels it is necessary that the crank arm shouldcontinue back of the carrier so that in passing around thesemi-circumference of the circle the grippers shall be reversedrelatively to the line of motion of the carrier, and thus have the jawsmoving toward the edge of the sheet to be gripped. Now as the crank armpasses a horizontal plane (see Fig. 13) passing through the axis of theguide chain wheel and of the circular part of the guide groove it isnecessary that it should be forced downward, otherwise in passing thatplane the carrier would begin to advance on the crank pin and finallypre cede it, and thus place the jaws so that they would follow insteadof preceding the carrier; but by forcing down the crank arm in passingthat plane the crank and consequently the jaws will precede the carrier.This is effected by an arm on an arbor Z fitted to turn in the guidewheel 12 on the principle of the sun and planet motion. This arborcarries a pinion m, which engages another pinion n, on the same wheel,and this latter engages a pinion 0, on a hub pf, on the shaft '5 of theguide wheel and concentric therewith, and this hub and pinion are keptfrom turning by a brace so that as the guide wheel turns, the twopinions a and m make one rotation on their axis while they make onerevolution about the axis of the guide wheel, and in consequence of thisthe arm 71: on the arbor of the pinion m continues to maintain ahorizontal position as it revolves about the axis of the guide wheel.Now as the gripper carrier comes onto the guide wheel a wrist pin r onthe crank arm of the carrier is brought under the arm is, of the pinionm and as this continues in a horizontal position as the guide wheelrotates the arm continues above the wrist pin of the crank arm and thusforces it to precede the carrier in the lower part of its circuit aroundthe guide wheel. The grippers are thus presented to the paper andprepared to perform the operations before described.

Although I have described my said invention in connection with thecylinder of printing presses, I do not wish to be understood as limitingmyself to such application, as it may be applied to printing pressesthat work without a cylinder, and in fact may be employed for feedingsheets of paper to reeling machines, and delivering the same, and may beapplied wherever sheets of paper are to be presented in succession to beworked or acted upon .in any manner, and then piled up. Nor do I wish tobe understood as limiting myself to the employment of all the specifiedimprovements in one machine as partial results may be obtained by usingonly a portion of them. Nor do I wish to be understood as limitingmyself to the spe cial construction and arrangement of the parts hereinspecified, as no doubt these may be greatly modified within the range ofmy invention by the substitution of equivalents.

I do not wish to be understood as making claim to the method of liftingsheets of paper from a pile by means of an exhaust bar or surface actingon the principle of suction, as I am aware that this was first done manyyears ago by M. Rimond in Europe in a machine for making envelops. But

lVhat I do claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patentis 1. The mode of operation, substantially as herein described, by whichthe pile or piles of sheets is or are moved up or down and kept inposition as the sheets are taken from or laid on the pile, that theupper sheet of the pile may at all times be in the proper position to beacted upon by the mechanism which removes it or which deposits it, whichmode of operation'consists in lifting or depressing the table or tableson which the pile is placed by the mechanism herein described, or theequivalent thereof, in combination with the gage and holding bar, or anyequivalent therefor, which rests on the top sheet to hold it down andwhich by its position on the pile and its connection governs andcontrols the movements of the lifting or depressing mechanism,substantially as herein described, the said mode of operation beingemployed to govern the position of the pile on the feeding and receivingtables, or either, as set forth.

2. The mode of operation for holding the upper sheet of the pile on thereceiving table on which the sheets are in succession deposited so thatas the sheets are drawn over the pile in succession the sheet previouslydeposited shall. not be moved from the position in which it wasdeposited, the said modeof operation consisting in the use of a wing orplate which rests on the upper edge of the pile at that end of it overwhich the sheets move as they are drawn over the pile, and

which then rises to permit the newly deposited sheet to fall, and againdescends to hold it preparatory to the introduction of another sheet,the said wing or plate being operated in the manner substantially asherein described or any equivalent therefor. And this I claim Whetherthe said wing or plate be employed for the sole purpose of holding theupper sheet of the pile on the receiving table, or for this and for thepurpose of gaging and controlling the mechanism which depresses thereceiving table.

3. Making pressure on the surface of the pile of sheets on the feedingtable, and within a short distance of the edge which is to be lifted,for the purpose of forcing the sheets at that end of the pile to openfanlike that the separation may be more effectually made, substantiallyas herein described, and this I claim whether the required pressure bemade by the rounded surface on the exhaust bar, or by a separate barhaving the like mode of operation.

4. Making the surface of the exhaust bar concave, substantially asherein described, so that the upper sheet which is to be removed fromthe pile shall be drawn into the said concavity, and thereby draw itsedge within the edge of the pile, the more effectually to insure theseparation, as set forth.

5. Placing the concave surface of the exhaust bar so that it shalloverlap or extend beyond the edge of the pile, substantially asdescribed, that the whole of that portion of the sheet which is to beacted upon by the exhaust may be within the concavity of the exhaustbar, thus causing the inward current to pass upward under the projectingconcave surface of the exhaust bar and across the edges of the pile toinsure the separation of the edges of the sheets as described.

6. Blowing in a current of air at one or both ends of the concavity ofthe exhaust bar, substantially as herein described to insure theseparation of the top sheet from the rest of the pile, preparatory toremoving it from the pile, as set forth.

7 The employment of the transferring or holding bar connected with theexhaust and blowing bellows, or equivalents therefor, substantially asdescribed, in combination with the exhaust bar, substantially asdescribed, by means of which that end of the top sheet which has beenseparated from the pile is transferred from the exhaust bar to, and heldby, the said transfer bar until it is taken by the grippers or anyequivalent therefor, that the exhaust bar may be removed preparatory tocarrying off the top sheet, as set forth.

8. The method of thinning the edge of the pile to insure the separationof the edges of the sheets where they are liable to adhere, by means ofthe rotating spring flippers,

substantially as described, or any equivalents therefor.

9. The mode of operation substantially as described by which thegripping end of the jaws, which grip the sheet of paper, are made tomaintain a fixed position, relatively to the edge of the sheet held bythe transferring and holding bar, during the entire operation ofgripping the sheet, and during a portion of the operation of reversingthe jaws by the continued motion of the endless chain or band with whichthe rear part of the jaws are connected, as set forth.

10. Removing the sheets in succession from the pile by gripping one endof each sheet in succession with gripping jaws, after the end has beenseparated and lifted from the pile by other means, and rolling it ofithe pile by the motion of the gripping jaws toward the other end of thepile substantially as specified, by which all tendency to disturb thesheets below is avoided, as set forth. I do not claim broadly the factof rolling off the sheet from one end of the pile toward the other, butlimit my claim to the mode of operation specified by which I attain thisend in a practical and efficient manner.

11. Making friction on both surfaces of the sheet when brought over thepile on the receiving table substantially as described in combinationwith the grippers so that the moment it is liberated by the jaws thefriction on both surfaces shall hold and leave it in place on the pile,substantially as described, whereby the accurate deposit of thesuccessive sheets is made to depend solely on the period of opening thejaws, as set forth.

12. Making pressure on, and packing, the pile of sheets on the receivingtable as each sheet in succession is deposited, by means of a perforatedplate substantially as specified, the perforations in the plate givingfree access to air that the plate may be lifted without drawing up thesheets with it as set forth. I am aware that pressure has been made onthe top sheet of a pile in the operation of depositing the sheets bymeans of bars called a fly, and therefore I do not claim broadly makingpressure on the pile, except by means of a perforated plate extendingover the entire pile to pack down the entire surface, as hereinspecified, the small perforations preventing the sheet from being liftedwhile they do not prevent the packing down of the pile.

13. And finallythe employment of pointed punches to punch holes in thesheets as they are piled on the receiving table, substantially asdescribed, so that the pile may be transferred and moved withoutshifting the position of the sheets relatively to each other in thepile, as set forth.

ANDREW CAMPBELL.

WVitnesses:

WM. H. BIsHor, ANDRE DE LACY,

